5 Things Your Etsy Shop Can’t Do Without

Selling on Etsy of all marketplaces requires some specific techniques. Most of the things you already know as a web store owner also apply for this marketplace but there are a few things your Etsy store can’t do without.

It doesn’t matter if you’re selling on Etsy for the first time or you’ve already started, I encourage you to go through this list and highlight the things you could’ve possibly missed to include in your Etsy Marketplace Strategy.

1. Titles Should Be Phrases Your Buyers Search For

This is not a new piece of information. On the contrary, it’s something you should have in mind for all of your eCommerce platforms and marketplaces. Product titles are the keywords your buyers search for in Google and should be as descriptive as possible.

When it comes to Etsy, make sure that you don’t include the same keywords in your product titles. In other words, say what you want to say with as many different synonyms to the original word. But make sure the keywords you publish are actually the phrases people search for.

? Example: Great Gift for Father, Dad, Papa, Pops

Just because there are many people who will write in the search field “gift for father”, “gift for dad”, etc. This way you have the chance to catch a larger number of shoppers only by mentioning all the different ways a person might search for their target gift recipient.

Also, if your eCommerce product is about a specific year of one’s birthday, it’s a good tactic to include in the title XXth Birthday. Many people who search on Etsy for gifts type in the search field the specific year of birth or XXth Birthday along with the target audience (i.e. Father, Dad, etc).

The formula we’d like to offer for a product title is the following:

[Short Description Of Product] + [Product Category] + [Occasion, Holiday or Use of Product] + [Synonym of Product Category] + Great Gift for + [Target Audience]+ [Mention That It Is Either Unisex, Versatile, Multiple Uses]

All of the above have a high chance of being searched for in Etsy.

2. Add New Listings Daily

Updating your Etsy store daily by adding new product listings gets you higher in the website’s search results. So, it’s important to add new listings daily.

Even if you are doing any advertising throughout the marketplace, your ads won’t be as convertible as if you were adding product listings every day. The more activity, the better the results.

3. Build Relationship Between Shop And Buyer

In Etsy, it’s important for your customers to trust you, to relate somehow to your story or to feel like they are a part of your buyers’ community. Visitors will often go to your profile to see why you’re selling what you’re selling.

The relationship you build between you (your shop) and your buyers can happen with the help of your bio and your story. Make sure to mention why you’re passionate about your eCommerce products and if there is a cause behind your Etsy shop, write it down there. Buyers, and especially Americans who often visit Etsy, love a good cause.

When you’re shaping up your profile and are writing your bio, it’s important to do it in first person. This builds a stronger and more personal connection with your Etsy shop visitors.

The specific thing about Etsy is that there is a community of Etsy users who browse the website daily. Once they stumble upon your shop and they find what they’re looking for, or they connect with the story you decided to tell on your profile, they can favorite your shop. This way they will see more of your product listings.

4. Fit Into Etsy’s Price Range

The price is another thing that makes Etsy a bit more different than other marketplaces. People who shop on Etsy are not used to spending more than $50. This is because sellers often offer handmade work, which rarely costs more than this amount of money.

Whatever you’re selling, if it’s above $50, either sell it for less or don’t sell it at all on Etsy because it will be more difficult for you to succeed there.

5. Tags, Occasion, Holiday and Section are a must

When you’re adding a new product listing on Etsy, there’s a lot of different sections to fill. Most of them are automatic and don’t need to be unique. This means that you can have similar descriptions, the same fields chosen for type, renewal options or custom orders. You can even find a software that does this kind of automated work so that you don’t have to always fill out fields that are the same on all listings.

I know of a software that can do the trick. It’s called iMacros and with a little bit of work on your part, it can do such repetitive tasks on a web page.

However, what’s important and perhaps is one of the most important things about your product listing are the Tags. Make sure you use up all 13 of them. Each and every one matters. For the first 7 or 8 tags, you can use everything you already mentioned in your product listing title. And for the rest, you can type all the phrases that your buyers might search for that you couldn’t mention in the title because of the limited space. Include synonyms, type your Etsy store’s name or just mention the holiday/occasion this gift is perfect for.

On Etsy, there is also the option to choose from a drop-down menu the holiday or the occasion your product is perfect for as a gift. Make sure to always choose from these options because many people filter their search by holiday or occasion such as Pregnancy Announcement, Graduation, Mother’s Day etc.

How the Occasion menu looks like in Etsy

It is also important to fill out a section. The sections are very similar to holidays and occasions. You create them yourselves and you relate your products to the section it belongs to.

Now, all of the above is Optional on Etsy but without tags, occasion, holiday and section, you are losing potential customers who type in similar keywords and are, again potentially, being presented to your Etsy products.

Advice from the Unravelled Zone Team

*wink-wink*

In the past couple of months, I’ve been helping an Etsy shop owner with his product listings and I’ve noticed a few more activities that definitely help.

Observe Your Competitors

Compare yourself to shop owners who sell similar to your products. Observe how they write their profile and bio, what they do to style their product images and whether the product titles they write work and sell.

If you own an eCommerce shop, you are probably already comparing yourself to competitors. On Etsy, it’s just as important to observe them.

Think Of A Terrific Return Policy

It always helps to reassure your buyers that whatever they purchase can be returned. Think of an easy way to do this for them with perhaps a 100% refund. It will be good to have it explained on your profile, bio and on your product listing descriptions.

It’s important that customers feel safe about their online purchase. There are very little cases of having products returned. So, this is mostly for your buyers’ convenience. Most of the times, this is the last push needed for a person to make a purchase.

Demonstrate Multiple Uses

Another thing most people love making sure of before they buy something is that what they’re buying is versatile and can be used for multiple uses. Everybody wants to make sure they’re purchasing the best deal possible. Especially on marketplaces like Etsy where everybody is selling their own work and visitors are not used to paying a hand load of money.

If you are selling t-shirts, for example, mention that each t-shirt is unisex and can be used by both genders. If you’re selling mugs, mention that people can drink coffee, tea and even water in these porcelain containers.

So, basically, if you’re doing something wrong with your Etsy shop but you don’t know what exactly that could be, try some of the techniques above. Your Etsy shop can definitely flourish with them.